THE NOMINATE SUBSPECIES OF THE PURPLE FINCH IN CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN NORTH AMERICA CAMERON L. RUTT, School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803;
[email protected] PETER PYLE, The Institute for Bird Populations, P. O. Box 1346, Point Reyes Sta- tion, California 94956;
[email protected] PAUL W. COLLINS, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta Del Sol, Santa Barbara, California 93105;
[email protected] MATTHEW L. BRADY, Museum of Natural Science, 119 Foster Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803;
[email protected] JAMES R. TIETZ, Point Blue Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Drive, Suite 11, Petaluma, California 94954;
[email protected] JON L. DUNN, 24 Idaho St., Bishop, California 93514;
[email protected] ABSTRACT: The Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) is most often recognized as comprising two distinct subspecies: purpureus, breeding and wintering through most of Canada and the eastern United States, and californicus, reported to be largely resident along the Pacific coast, from British Columbia to southern California. Although the migratory purpureus is the subspecies expected as a vagrant in Alaska and the interior West, the identity of the subspecies occurring in these regions has been poorly documented. Here we document the first records of purpureus for California and assess the subspecies of the Purple Finch from photographs and specimens throughout western North America. Nominate purpureus occurs regularly in the western Great Plains states and very sparsely farther west. H. p. californicus may be more prone to vagrancy than previously suspected, as we document the first records for Alaska, Colorado, and New Mexico.